Winter blues...February 2012

When I'm lucky, I can be outside cross-country skiing and enjoying the pleasures of winter. However, I have spent a good deal of time indoors. That's given me an itch to make some changes. The floor plan of our home is challenge.
When we moved in the kitchen looked like this:

Almost impossible to tell but the wall immediately on the left is drywall floor to ceiling.

So here is how the kitchen/dining room look now:

 To balance all the cupboards and knotty pine on the right side, I added the knotty pine wainscotting to the left wall and the fax tree :)

 The picture doesn't do it justice...it is really warm and wonderful. The stools are covered in elk hide. Someday a new dishwasher! The back splash is copper.

We are looking at the kitchen from the other side of the room where the dining room table is.
From here:

The kitchen is just to the right of the picture, the dining table to the left. Bedrooms are straight ahead and the living room is 2 steps down behind us.

Here are a few shots of the dining room table area. This is important, because this is what I want to change:

 The shot here is the dining room table just up the steps from the living room. The window to the left has a gorgeous view, and the only real view from inside the house.

 This is looking at the dining room from the kitchen.  This is what I'm thinking...move the dining room down into the living room (more about that later) and make this a parlor area?? I'm seeing three to four club chairs facing each other like a conversation pit, with long drapes on the window...move the china hutch you see here down into living room area (more later). Not a huge area here and need to leave room to easily move from this area into living room. The rug here is 8x12.

 I'm standing by the wood burning stove here so now you can see how this dining area drops into the living room. The kitchen is to your left.

Okay...
So, now I moved the dining room table into the living room to try this out.

From this view you see the dining room table (though the lighting is terrible in this shot). I'm standing where the table use to be.
We have a 26 foot living room!

Now I'm at the far end of the living room where the fireplace is.  If you look close you can see the dining room table on the other side of the couch. I think placing one of the couches across the room helps divide this long space in to two areas. HOWEVER, this room feels a bit like a runway because the knotty pine boards are running vertically and so is the room. All the weight feels like it's on one side (because it is?) . You see one door on the left, and then another a bit further down.

I need to figure out how to add weight to the left side (left side from this view). Before we go further, know that I am going to take the desk out of the 'hole' at the far end by the dining room table and move the buffet you see along the left hand wall into that space and move the china hutch from the dining room where the buffet is now. (Whew, kind of hard to take this all in!) I think the china hutch will help weight the wall because it is tall and heavy. I also think I will add knotty pine wainscotting to this wall (as you saw in the kitchen) but only on this stretch between the two doors. I also think I should paint the wall a darker color.
I have a new blog friend...Kirsten (!) and she has shared a paint color with me..."Twig Basket" , so I'll be getting a sample to try.
I found Kirsten through her blog:
http://kirstenerickson.blogspot.com/
So...between adding some texture and color with the pine and paint...that might help get rid of this long stretch? Other suggestions? My girlfriend suggested I put the small club chair that you see now, and that is why the buffet is off center and so is the picture. What do you think of the chair?

So...leave the table here?

Now...you have to get really visionary for the next step....
Picture three (and ultimately maybe four) of these chairs...

Okay...not this one. It's nearly $800. and that's way over budget (but boy do I love it!)

So picture three, and perhaps four, of these chairs:

Up where the dining room table was configured in a circle together. Now the following pictures are really going to mess up the vision...
I tried this with some dining chairs and bench, etc. just to get a feel, so be creative with me...

 Ignore the table you see in the left hand corner (it was in the living room and I just didn't have anywhere to put it when we were moving things around.) In this picture note the valance. All wrong. I will put long drapes that go to the floor. I'm thinking a reddish color??

 Obviously, the furniture I am using here is all wrong (note table again that won't be here), but was trying to get a feel for it. You can see a bit of the cow skin rug here. I hope to use that here.

 It's essential that whatever I do, it blends with the kitchen.

I will eventually need to replace this window with one that sits lower. Always more to do!  Not sure how much room there will be, but would like to have a small table of sorts in the center of the chair grouping. Maybe stumps, perhaps an old ore cart...have to see how much room there would be.

Now....get creative with me again. Since I'll be moving the china hutch to the other room (I'm standing directly in front of the china hutch to take this picture). What if I bring that big ole desk that I don't really like, up to this spot, paint it black and then red over that and sand it??? I measured, it will fit here.
Thoughts???

BIG QUESTION!!!! Do I go for it, and try the parlor idea, or should I put the dining room table back and forget this???
For those of you wondering what was in the living room where I moved the dining room table...the round table you see up in the kitchen area.
Here is picture where you can sort of that area before I moved the dining room table.The pictures were taken at night. Oh, and the leather chair is dividing the room rather than the red couch.
Ah yes, I know I need to have different living room furniture...just can't afford that right now. And while the living room furniture is random, it is comfy!

In this shot, you really see what I mean about the 'runway' effect. I can also see that in the future, having the tv hutch gone and using a shorter console stand would be better. The tv hutch breaks up the view of hte fireplace. Sigh....

Back to the big questions:
1. Do I move the dining room table and create a 'parlor'?
2. How do I add weight to the one side of the living room?
3. Any and all suggestions for anything at all!

Now, before I sign off, this blog was really devoted to my garden. So if you looked at the previous posts you saw it in bloom. Here it is now!

I have plans brewing in my head and on paper for spring in the garden! Hopefully the snow is a protective covering for those hardy perennials at 9,200 feet!

Cozy Fall...the garden rests

I've thoroughly been enjoying a Fall Break from work and soaking up the gorgeous fall weather. At our elevation we have mostly evergreen trees but are blessed with Quaking Aspen that turn golden and red colors in the fall.

Several weeks ago

Today...October 18th, 2011

"Nature's peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees." John Muir

As is common in Colorado, we continue to have days that reach 70 degrees and days with snow. We had four inches of snow a week ago and that was our first frost as well. Many of my garden flowers could survive a light snow, but the heavy four inches brought the tall stalks of the delphinium, sunflowers, golden rod and others to the ground. The only flowers still looking happy are the phlox and sedium. I cut many of the flowers back, fertilized and then used the cuttings to lay on top as a mulch to protect the plants over the winter. I pulled out the soaker hoses and put them away for the year. It is so difficult in the spring to identify where the plants are hiding, so I wanted to mark them. I decided to try using silverware to mark their spots.
I ordered allium and they arrived, so I put those in the ground and hopefully put them in the right direction! Allium are one of those flowers you can enjoy in bloom and then again as dried flowers.

A week ago my husband and I were in Grand Lake, Colorado and stopped by a rustic furniture store. They were closing up shop for the season and selling an arbor that was looking pretty rough...but the good news...it was less than half price! So, we loaded it up in the pickup and brought it home. It took me over 3 hours to sand it, and three coats of stain/sealer and many hours later...it's perfect!

Well, almost perfect. The gate doesn't go with this rustic log arbor at all....

So, well I was out walking I collected dead aspen trees and branches, grabbed the drill and some screws... and now...

...a gate more befitting the arbor. I haven't figured out how I'll hang it yet, but then, that's what husbands are for!

I also had some morning visitors who kept me company while I worked on the gate.

Seriously...they stayed nearly all morning.
This is why I have to have a deer fence! They are fearless!

It's been a heavenly week that has allowed me the opportunity to putter around outside enjoying nature, sunshine and sweaters all day long!
So, even though the garden has died back and gone to sleep...what's not to love about October?

It's the middle of September and my garden is going strong. While most gardens have faded from their show, mine is about where everyone else was in July. While some of the flowers had their show earlier, there are many still giving a good show.
Successes this year:
Most importantly, the fence kept the deer out of the flower garden!!! (Loud cheering would be good here.)
The soaker hoses have been a godsend during this dry summer. I will definitely be using them in the future! This is where I have to formally now concede that the garden is a joint effort and not mine alone. My husband has been fantastic and has been diligent about watering when I am away. He even keeps track of which days and which beds he has watered...he's set up a formal rotation! I'm sure in past years we were never able to give the beds the water they needed and this alone may be the reason that the plants have all doubled in size this year.
I'm almost afraid to say it out-loud, but I'm also singing the praises of the mole-chasers we installed.  A year ago, I had tunnels through my beds and plants disappearing. No sign of moles this year. (Knocking on the wooden table as I type this!)
I'm thinking that the other strategy that really helped this year was the pellet fertilizer I applied in the fall last year, this spring and mid-summer.
The use of a good mulch may be another key to our success. I broke down and spent the big bucks on the Cottonbur Mulch this year and it has really held up through the drought. I usually try to make it 'stretch' and lay it on too thin. This year, I put the full two to three inches recommended and it did keep the moisture in the ground.
I sing praises to Tina who owns 'Diggin In the Dirt', a greenhouse outside of Woodland Park. Every plant I've bought from Tina has been so healthy and they have all thrived. I was explaining to Tina how my plants have really grown in size and my garden has filled in. Tina says to remember:
The first year they sleep, the second year they creep, and the third year they leap. Well they really have!







I put in a second gate to the garden and laid some wooden 'cookies' for the pathway to this one too. I'll have to find an interesting arbor to go over the gate next season.
I was also surprised to see that some of the seeds did come up this year! I have lots of Baby's Breath, lots of Forget-Me-Nots, some annual poppies, and even Four O'clocks! The sunflowers are towering at 7 feet. They have created an awesome barrier that blocks the view of the neighbors. If only they would stay up all year! The tiny willow saplings have survived but a drought year didn't make for great growth. Perhaps in three years we'll have something resembling a bush??
None of the plants planted from bare roots that I mail ordered came up at all. Hmmm?? They did seem too good to be true.
This weekend I took the perennials I put in pots for the summer and transplanted them into the ground. I also started a new bed next to the new entrance way. Tilled it up, added some garden dirt from the raised beds in the vegetable garden and added some manure. Now, I'll let it 'cook' until next spring.
Have that melancholy feeling when you know the season is coming to an end and I won't be able to putter in the flower garden until spring. Wondering just how far away the first frost will be. It snowed on Pikes Peak last week and the Harvest Moon shone bright last week...


Starting in June...and now it's September. (I can't get this blog to let me get the pictures in sequence... but I'm sure you get the idea!)

September 10, 2011

This is the same shot as you see in at the bottom of the page in May.

May to September

May 14, 2011
See the photo above now in September!

Mid July and still growing

We've still seen almost no rain, and today we had temperatures in the 90's! That's really hot when you're this close to the sun! I think we are likely breaking some records for high temperatures. Even the wildlife is seeking refuge from the sun and heat under our porch.

Following are some pictures of my flower garden on July 17th, just a little over a month from the June posting. The garden color was predominately purple and now some white and yellow flowering plants are adding a much needed contrast. This is about the time that the blooming will really begin.
The Lovage is over 6 feet tall, and the Sibirian Catmint is well over waist high and is so big around I had to cut it back today to keep it from suffocating neighboring plants! Who would have thought I would ever have to worry about plants getting too big and full!? The Maximillian Sunflowers at the back of the upper garden are waist high and you can't even see the Iris anymore, which turns out to be alright since the Iris have finished blooming.
I'm noticing I need to reposition some plants next spring...the large Delphinium is blocking the Virginia Creeper and Silver Lace Vine from getting adequate sun to really take off. They are completely hidden behind the Delphinium (hence the ladder for them to grow up). There are many others that need some shifting around...yeah!

Delphinium...can't even see the Virginia Creeper or Silver Lace Vine growing directly behind

Finally, more than purple blooms!

I also have weeds or maybe not? I put down so many seeds in May and June, seeds and plants new to me, that I'm not sure what is what out there. So, I'm pulling what I'm certain are weeds and then watching and waiting. This wasn't a good year for seeds...so hot and dry.

Baby's Breath grown from seed

I wasn't sure whether the soaker hoses would do an adequate job of watering but they are keeping the ground underneath the mulch wet and nothing has dried out completely. On really hot days like today I find the Lovage, Siberian Cat Mint and Cone flowers limp with leaves hanging on the ground, so I water them with the hose and they bounce back. I am definitely buying more soaker hoses next year so that every area has one. Makes watering so much easier.

The sunflowers have really made a growth spurt! I have strawberries bearing fruit and the rhubarb looks like it could be pulled next year. I thought my potato plants didn't make it, but I see I have 4 healthy plants.

The sunflowers were sown from seed a month ago and are now waist high. Will it stay warm enough for them to reach maturity?

As we near the end of July I have to remind myself that summer and the growing season isn't over.  I head back to work full time in a week. I only have the remainder of this week to play and enjoy my gardens and then I am only a gardener on weekends.

Hoping August will bring us some rain!

Wildflower Festival in Crested Butte, Colorado

One of my favorite summer events is the Wildflower Festival in Crested Butte. I just returned from a whirlwind trip and want to share a few photos of the walking garden tour.
Crested Butte sits at 9,000 feet and the flowers I saw in gardens were all the same flowers I have growing in my garden, with one exception. The Lupine in Crested Butte will take your breathe away. They are tall, brilliant colored and majestic. I have yet to get Lupine to take hold and bloom for me. I am 'undaunted' though and will continue to try.
After the garden tour I am headed to a local nursery to buy some Poppy plants! They were in full bloom and just gorgeous.
I am waiting to see if my Peony will bloom this year and was so impressed with the Peony I saw in Crested Butte.
The following photos are from the walking garden tour. I have just two photos of the scenery around Crested Butte...the hillsides are full of wildflowers! I was able to take some hikes and walk the trails to celebrate the beauty. Nature is so healing and so surprising in its gifts.

Lovage

Lovage is a wonderful, very old herb with properties perfect for today's healthy lifestyles. Its unique flavor, which is a combination of strong celery flavour with a hint of anise, lends a wonderful flavor to soups, stews, stocks, salads, meat, potato and tomato dishes. You can use it much like you would celery or parsley, but with a lighter hand since it does have a stronger flavor. It is also used as a natural salt substitute, and is said to be an aphrodisiac - hence the name. And every part of the plant - leaves, stems, roots and seed - is edible!
Fortunately for me, Lovage is not a small, delicate plant. It will grow to about 6' - 0 feet tall in 5 years, so you want to have a nice roomy corner of the garden set aside for it. Due to its statuesque size and solid green leaves, it looks great as a backdrop in the perennial flower garden, and is indeed often used for that purpose. It can also be grown in a large pot, or tub on the balcony. And in a couple of years, you never need to buy celery or parsley again - other than for celery sticks with Chez Whiz.

Lucky me, even in this severe drought, my Lovage has now reached 6 feet! It is as tall as me! Some days I arrive home and find it drooping, but with a bit of water, it perks right back up!

All over Colorado they have record breaking moisture. It misses us everytime. We are ready to gather together to do a rain dance...please contact me if you have suggestions.